THE CINE-WORKERS WELFARE FUND ACT, 1981 
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ARRANGEMENT OF SECTION 
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SECTIONS 

1.  Short title, extent and commencement. 
2.  Definition. 
3.  Cine-workers Welfare Fund. 
4.  Application of Fund. 
5.  Advisory Committees. 
6.  Central Advisory Committee. 
7.  Power to co-opt, etc. 
8.  Appointment of Welfare Commissioners, etc., and their powers. 
9.  Annual report of activities financed under the Act. 
10.  Power to call for information. 
11.  Power to make rules. 

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THE CINE-WORKERS WELFARE FUND ACT, 1981 

ACT NO. 33 OF 1981 

[17th September, 1981.] 

An  Act  to  provide  for  the  financing  of  activities  to  promote  the  welfare  of  certain                    

cine-workers. 

BE it enacted by Parliament in the Thirty-second Year of the Republic of India as follows:— 

1. Short title, extent and commencement.—(1) This Act may be called the Cine-workers Welfare 

Fund Act, 1981. 

(2) It extends to the whole of India. 

(3)  It  shall  come  into  force  on  such  date1  as  the  Central  Government  may,  by  notification  in  the 

Official Gazette, appoint. 

2. Definition.—In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,— 

(a) “cinematograph film” has the same meaning as in the Cinematograph Act, 1952 (37 of 1952); 

(b) “cine-worker” means an individual— 

(i) who has been employed, directly or through any contractor or in any other manner, in or in 
connection with the production of not less than five feature films to work as an artiste (including 
actor, musician or dancer) or to do any work, skilled, unskilled, manual, supervisory, technical, 
artistic or otherwise; and 

2[(ii)  whose  remuneration  with  respect  to  such  employment  in  or  in  connection  with  the 
production  of  each  of  any  five  feature  films,  not  being  less  than  the  monthly  remuneration  or 
lump sum remuneration stipulated prior to the commencement of the Cine-workers Welfare Fund 
(Amendment) Act, 2001 (56 of 2001), does not exceed such sum, whether monthly or by way of 
lump sum or instalments, as may be specified by the Central Government by notification in the 
Official Gazette;] 

(c) “feature film” means a full length cinematograph film produced wholly or partly in India with 
a format and a story woven around a number of characters where the plot is revealed mainly through 
dialogues and not wholly through narration, animation or cartoon depiction and does not include an 
advertisement film; 

(d) “Fund” means the Cine-workers Welfare Fund formed under section 3; 

(e) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act; 

(f) “producer”, in relation to a feature film, means the person by whom arrangements necessary 

for  the  making  of  such  film  (including  the  raising  of  finance  and  engaging  cine-workers  for  such   
filmmaking) are undertaken. 

1. 1st November, 1984, vide notification No. G.S.R. 721(E), dated 12th October, 1984, see Gazette of India, Extraordinary,  
    Part I, sec. 3 (i). 
2. Subs. by Act 56 of 2001, s. 2, for sub-clause (ii) (w.e.f. 2-5-2002). 

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3.  Cine-workers  Welfare  Fund.—There  shall  be  formed  a  Fund,  to  be  called  the  Cine-workers 

Welfare Fund, and there shall be credited thereto— 

(a) such amounts as the Central Government may, after due appropriation made by Parliament by 
law in this behalf, provide from out of the proceeds of the duty of excise credited under section 5 of 
the  Cine-workers  Welfare  Cess  Act,  1981  (30  of  1981),  after  deducting  therefrom  the  cost  of 
collection as determined by the Central Government under this Act; 

(b) any grants made to the Fund by the Central Government; 

(c) any money received as donations for the purposes of this Act; 

(d) any income from investment of the amounts in the Fund. 

4.  Application  of  Fund.—(1)  The  Fund  shall  be  applied  by  the  Central  Government  to  meet  the 
expenditure incurred in connection with measures and facilities which, in the opinion of that Government, 
are necessary or expedient to promote the welfare of cine-workers; and, in particular,— 

(a) to defray the cost of such welfare measures or facilities for the benefit of cine-workers as may 

be decided by the Central Government; 

(b) to provide assistance in the form of grants or loans to indigent cine-workers; 

(c) to sanction any money in aid of any scheme for the welfare of the cine-workers 1[, including 
family  welfare,  family  planning,  education  and  services]  which  is  approved  by  the  Central 
Government; 

(d) to meet the allowances, if any, of the members of the Advisory Committees and the Central 
Advisory Committee constituted under sections 5 and 6 respectively and the salaries and allowances, 
if any, of persons appointed under section 8; 

(e)  any  other  expenditure  which  the  Central  Government  may  direct  to  be  defrayed  from  the 

Fund. 

(2) The Central Government shall have power to decide whether any particular expenditure is or is 

not debitable to the Fund, and its decision shall be final. 

5.  Advisory  Committees.—(1)  The  Central  Government  may  constitute  as  many  Advisory 
Committees  as  it  thinks  fit  to  advise  the  Central  Government  on  such  matters  arising  out  of  the 
administration of this Act as may be referred to it by that Government, including matters relating to the 
application of the Fund. 

(2) Each Advisory Committee shall consist of such number of persons as may be appointed to it by 

the Central Government and the members shall be chosen in such manner as may be prescribed: 

Provided that each Advisory Committee shall include an equal number of members representing the 

Government, the cine-workers and the producers. 

(3) The Chairman of each Advisory Committee shall be appointed by the Central Government. 

(4) The Central Government shall publish in the Official Gazette the names of the members of every 

Advisory Committee. 

6. Central Advisory Committee.—(1) The Central Government may constitute a Central Advisory 
Committee to co-ordinate the work of the Advisory Committees constituted under section 5 and to advise 
the Central Government on any matter arising out of the administration of this Act. 

1. Ins. by Act 26 of 1987, s. 3 (w.e.f. 10-8-1988). 

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(2) The Central Advisory Committee shall consist of 1[such number of members as may be appointed] 

by the Central Government and the members shall be chosen in such manner as may be prescribed: 

Provided that the Central Advisory Committee shall include at least three members representing the 

Government, the cine-workers and the producers. 

(3) The Chairman of the Central Advisory Committee shall be appointed by the Central Government. 

(4) The  Central  Government  shall publish  in  the  Official  Gazette  the  names  of the  members  of the 

Central Advisory Committee. 

7. Power to co-opt, etc.—(1) An Advisory Committee or the Central Advisory Committee may, at 

any time and for such period as it thinks fit, co-opt any person or persons to the Advisory Committee. 

(2) A person co-opted under sub-section (1) shall exercise all the powers and functions of a member 

under this Act but shall not be entitled to vote. 

(3) An Advisory Committee or the Central Advisory Committee may, if it considers it necessary or 
expedient so to do, invite any person to attend its meeting and when such person attends any meeting, he 
shall not be entitled to vote thereat. 

8. Appointment of Welfare Commissioners, etc., and their powers.—(1) The Central Government 
may appoint as many Welfare Commissioners, Welfare Administrators, Inspectors and such other officers 
and  staff  as  it  thinks  necessary  for  the  purposes  of  this  Act  and  the  Cine-  workers  Welfare  Cess                         
Act, 1981 (30 of 1981). 

(2)  The  Central  Government  may,  by  general  or  special  order,  direct  a  Welfare  Commissioner  to 
appoint such staff as is considered necessary for the purposes of this Act and the Cine-workers Welfare 
Cess Act, 1981 (30 of 1981). 

(3)  Every  person  appointed  under  this  section  shall  be  deemed  to  be  a  public  servant  within  the 

meaning of section 21 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860). 

(4) Any Welfare Commissioner may,— 

(a) with such assistance, if any, as he may think fit, enter, at any reasonable time, any place which 
he  considers  it  necessary  to  enter  for  carrying  out  the  purposes  of  this  Act  and  the  Cine-workers 
Welfare Cess Act, 1981 (30 of 1981); 

(b) do within such place anything necessary for the proper discharge of his duties; and 

(c) exercise such other powers as may be prescribed. 

9. Annual report of activities financed under the Act.—The Central Government shall, as soon as 
may be, after the end of each financial year, cause to be published in the Official Gazette, a report giving 
an account of the activities financed under this Act during the financial year, together with a statement of 
accounts. 

10. Power to call for information.—The Central Government may require a producer to furnish, for 
the  purposes  of  this  Act,  such  statistical  and  other  information in  such form  and  within  such  period  as 
may be prescribed. 

11. Power to make rules.—(1) The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, 

make rules for carrying out the provisions of this Act. 

1. Subs. by Act 26 of 1987, s. 4, for “eleven members appointed” (w.e.f. 10-8-1988). 

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(2)  In  particular  and  without  prejudice  to  the  generality  of  the  foregoing  power,  such  rules  may 

provide for— 

(a) the manner in which the Fund may be applied for the measures and facilities specified in sub-

section (1) of section 4; 

(b) the conditions governing the grant of any loan under clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 4; 

(c) the composition of the Advisory Committees and the Central Advisory Committee constituted 
under sections 5 and 6 respectively, the manner in which the members thereof shall be chosen, the 
term of office of such members, the allowances, if any, payable to them, and the manner in which the 
Advisory Committees and the Central Advisory Committee shall conduct their business; 

(d) the recruitment, conditions of service and the duties of all persons appointed under section 8; 

(e) the powers that may be exercised by a Welfare Commissioner, a Welfare Administrator and 

an Inspector appointed under section 8; 

(f)  the  furnishing  to  the  Central  Government  by  a  producer  of  such  statistical  and  other 

information as may be required to be furnished under section 10; 

(g) the form in which and the period within which the statistical and other information are to be 

furnished under clause (f); 

(h) any other matter which has to be, or may be, prescribed by rules under this Act. 

(3) In making any rule under clause (f) or clause (g) of sub- section (2), the Central Government may 

direct that a breach thereof shall be punishable with fine which may extend to two thousand rupees. 

(4) Every rule made under this section shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each 
House of Parliament, while it is in session, for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in 
one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session immediately 
following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid, both Houses agree in making any modification 
in the rule or both Houses agree that the rule should not be made, the rule shall thereafter have effect only 
in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so, however, that any such modification or 
annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule. 

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